It's been two weeks since the Penn State Nittany Lions field hockey team clinched their spot in the Big Ten Tournament, doing so after just four out of the eight scheduled games on the 2026 Big Ten regular season schedule had been contested.
Penn State had not qualified for the postseason since 2023, due to finishing eighth in the nine-team conference in both 2024 and 2025. Seven teams qualify for the conference tournament each year, with the top seed earning a first-round bye.
Since advancing to 3-1 in Big Ten play with that victory over Ohio State, the Nittany Lions have added two ranked victories over Michigan and Indiana. Iowa ended Penn State's eight-game winning streak (and five-game Big Ten winning streak) in a closely contested 1-0 game this past Sunday.
Sitting 5-2 in the conference with only this Friday's game against Northwestern remaining on the regular season schedule, Hannah Prince's team can still be seeded anywhere from No. 3 to No. 5 in the Big Ten Tournament.
Despite having already beaten both 4-3 Indiana and 4-3 Rutgers and thus owning the head-to-head tiebreakers over both, a three-way tie possibility could still see the Nittany Lions drop below Indiana, depending on which games (if any) go to overtime, provided 4-3 Iowa wins and moves up into the top five from their current No. 6 spot.
We broke down all remaining possibilities, based on the Big Ten's very long list of tiebreaker parameters, in a separate (and admittedly somewhat exhaustive) scenario article earlier this week.
And yes, a scenario in which three teams (Penn State, Iowa, and Indiana/Rutgers) all wind up with 5-3 conference records could get pretty complicated, pretty quickly.
The Nittany Lions are now ranked No. 14 in the country, their highest rank in three years, and are guaranteed to be the No. 3 seed in the tournament with a win over the Wildcats on Friday.
Northwestern (7-0) has already clinched the No. 1 seed, due to their head-to-head win over Maryland, and Maryland (6-1) has already clinched the No. 2 seed, due to their head-to-head win over Penn State.
While Penn State controls their own destiny for the No. 3 seed, the results of the first two games of Friday afternoon, No. 15 Indiana @ No. 18 Rutgers and No. 9 Iowa @ No. 2 Maryland, would still play a key role in the Nittany Lions' seeding if they should end up losing.
And the results of all three will affect who the Nittany Lions' first-round opponent ends up being, since they could still play either Indiana, Rutgers, or Iowa. All three potential matchups could end up being the No. 3 vs. No. 6 game or the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game.
This story will be updated below, as three these games are decided. Note that you may have to refresh the page for updates to actually show up.
Live Penn State Big Ten Tournament opponent tracker
After Indiana vs. Rutgers...
Result: Indiana wins in regulation, 2-1
What it means for Penn State:
First of all, Penn State can no longer drop lower than the No. 4 seed. Let's get into each of the 16 remaining scenarios.
Scenario | Tourmament seeding outcome |
|---|---|
Iowa and Penn State win in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Indiana |
Iowa wins in regulation, Penn State wins in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Indiana |
Iowa wins in overtime, Penn State wins in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Indiana |
Iowa and Penn State win in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Indiana |
Maryland and Penn State win in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland wins in regulation, Penn State wins in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland wins in overtime, Penn State wins in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland and Penn State win in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Iowa and Northwestern win in regulation | Penn State is the No. 4 seed, faces No. 5 Rutgers |
Iowa wins in regulation, Northwestern wins in overtime | Penn State is the No. 4 seed, faces No. 5 Rutgers |
Iowa wins in overtime, Northwestern wins in regulation | Penn State is the No. 4 seed, faces No. 5 Rutgers |
Iowa and Northwestern win in overtime | Penn State is the No. 4 seed, faces No. 5 Rutgers |
Maryland and Northwestern win in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland wins in regulation, Northwestern wins in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland wins in overtime, Northwestern wins in regulation | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Maryland and Northwestern win in overtime | Penn State is the No. 3 seed, faces No. 6 Iowa |
Why regulation/overtime could matter: If there ends up being a three-way tie in which all three teams went 1-1 against one another during the regular season, conference regulation and overtime points come into play. Per the Big Ten, awarded points include "3 points for a win in regulation, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, 0 points for a loss in regulation".
Why it actually won't matter here: The points themselves could still matter, but whether the remaining games are decided in regulation or overtime can no longer change any of the tiebreaker outcomes, because of how the conference regulation and overtime points currently stack up after Rutgers' win over Indiana.
Big Ten rank | Team | Record | Win | OT Win | OT Loss | Loss | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Penn State | 5-2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
4 | Rutgers | 5-3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
5 | Iowa | 4-3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
6 | Indiana | 4-4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
Full points-related tiebreakers (and the reasons for each) have been sorted in full detail in a separate article.
After Iowa vs. Maryland...
Maryland leads, 5-1, fourth quarter
Result: Maryland wins, barring a 2016 Atlanta Falcons
If we assume Maryland hangs on in regulation, here's an updated look at the scenarios.
Scenario | Tournament seeding outcome |
|---|---|
Penn State wins in regulation | No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 6 Iowa, No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Indiana |
Penn State wins in overtime | No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 6 Iowa, No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Indiana |
Northwestern wins in regulation | No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 6 Iowa, No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Indiana |
Northwestern wins in overtime | No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 6 Iowa, No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Indiana |
That's right; they'd all produce the same first-round tournament matchups, meaning that Penn State would be playing to finish 6-2, and that would include a signature win over the No. 1 team in the country. But even if they fall to 5-3, they'd still be matched up against Iowa in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 game. There would be no three-way ties to sort.
And ironically, even had Penn State beaten Iowa this past Sunday, they'd still be in line to meet in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 game. Even had Penn State won that game, and even if they beat Northwestern this afternoon, they'd have been seeded No. 3, due to losing out on a three-way tie with Northwestern and Maryland at 7-1.
As for Iowa, can Penn State win the game in which the stakes are higher?
After Penn State vs. Northwestern...
Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET (delayed from 3:00 p.m. ET)
Result: TBD
Separately, the game between Ohio State and Michigan (5:00 p.m. ET) is set to determine which team gets the No. 7 seed and locks up a first-round matchup against Maryland, and which team joins Michigan State in watching the postseason from home.
Big Ten Tournament matchups (confirmed regardless of Penn State vs. Northwestern outcome): No. 1 Northwestern has a first-round bye and plays the winner of No. 4 Rutgers vs. No. 5 Indiana. No. 2 Maryland plays the winner of Ohio State vs. Michigan (tonight's battle for the No. 7 seed), and the winner of that game plays the winner of No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 6 Iowa.
All of Friday's action is being streamed live on B1G+.
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